The Adventure Pals: Your dad is now a hotdog, go save him!

Are you looking for a cute but hilarious cooperative platformer? Well, you’re in luck. The Adventure Pals is a fun platform where you travel around with a pet rock and a giraffe in your backpack. The best part? It’s finally out. It’s just been released on the Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox One, and PS4.

The Adventure Pals story begins with your dad calling you over for a birthday surprise. You receive a pet giraffe called Sparkles who’s been baked inside a cake — apparently, this is a standard birthday tradition. The game takes a more absurd turn when your father is promptly kidnapped by a long-time nemesis Mr. B, who’s latest evil plan is to begin turning people into hotdogs, starting with your papa. Yikes!

This may be irrelevant to some of you who don’t like puns, but Mr. B shows up on a bee. And, if you’re playing in cooperative mode, player 2 gets to have a unicorn giraffe instead of a regular one so make sure your friend sticks to being player 1 seeing as having a unicorn is clearly far superior than a regular one.

This is the beginning of a surreal two-dimensional platformer created by British developer Massive Monster. After three years of development, the team launched it on Kickstarter in July 2016. Now, here we are two years later with a full-blown release! They’ve listed the surreal cartoon Adventure Time and co-op platformer Castle Crashers as some their inspirations while working on The Adventure Pals so, expect ludicrous characters in those familiar art styles.

Besides being available on the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PS4, The Adventure Pals is available now on Steam for US$ 14.

Out of all the gadgets and gizmos showcased, one thing caught everyone’s eye. This is the special edition Predator Helios 300.

It comes in a stunning all-white aluminum chassis with gold details — something you don’t see a lot of with gaming laptops.

Of course, it’s not all looks. Specs have been updated, too. It’s powered by the latest Core i7 processor with up to 16GB of RAM (expandable to 32GB) and 512GB SSD storage.

This thing is also equipped with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card and a 15.6-inch display with a refresh rate of 144Hz. Other than those changes, it’s still the same powerful machine released last year.

Regional pricing is yet to be announced for this bad baby. In the meantime, let’s just ogle at this beautiful, clean, and crisp-looking exterior.

As if it doesn’t get any better, Acer also unveiled matching white accessories.

A gaming mouse and headphones to match the whole mood.

Just look at that. I can’t stop staring, and I’m sure you feel the same way.

This is definitely this year’s best-looking gaming device so far. Take my money, Acer!

Acer Predator Helios 500 can overclock its Core i9 and GTX 1070 chips

Acer is well known for unleashing some of the most unreal gaming notebooks we’ve ever seen. And while it’s difficult to top the Predator Triton 700 and 21 X, the company is certainly continuing to turn heads with its newest Helios lineup.

Both its Intel Core i9 and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 chips are overclockable. They’re already fast on stock speeds, so being able to go past their limits is something mobile gamers will wholeheartedly enjoy. On top of that, the Helios 500 can be fitted with Intel’s Optane memory, providing users with the shortest of load times. If that’s not enough, up to 64GB of RAM can be installed, too.

To make the most of the high-end components, the 17.3-inch IPS LCD (available in UHD or Full HD) can manage a 144Hz refresh rate along with NVIDIA’s G-Sync tech to prevent annoying instances of stuttering and tearing during intense gameplay. And so that things stay cool, the brand’s signature AeroBlade 3D metal fans are once again employed.

Since this is a gaming machine, you get the usual gamer essentials, including a backlit RGB keyboard and host of ports such as Thunderbolt 3 and HDMI 2.0.

Interested? The Helios 500 will go for US$ 1,999 in North America starting June, EUR 1,999 in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) beginning this month, and CNY 15,999 in China in June. Specific configurations depend per region.

Going back to the Helios 300 mentioned earlier, there’s now a Special Edition of the year-old gaming laptop. What’s different this time is the all-white aluminum chassis with gold trim — quite a unique design choice that stands out in the sea of black gaming notebooks.

It also comes with updated specs, namely an 8th-generation Core i7 processor coupled with up to 16GB of RAM (which you could still push to 32GB), 512GB SSD, Intel Optane memory, and a GTX 1060. The display is slightly smaller than its larger counterpart at 15.6 inches, but the Full HD IPS panel can handle a refresh rate of 144Hz, as well. Two AeroBlade fans are inside to keep everything in order.

The Helios 300’s regional pricing and availability will be disclosed soon.

Acer launches affordable but fast Nitro 50 gaming desktop

Much like smartphone aficionados, gamers require a plethora of flexible options to get their optimal gaming fix. There is no catch-all model for everyone. As such, gaming PC makers do better when they launch more models catered for different types of gamers.

With this in mind, Acer is launching another expansion to its specialized Nitro family. Catered more for gamers with a budget, the Nitro lineup touts amazing specs with competitive pricing.

The new addition, called the Nitro 50, infuses the lineup with a dose of high octane. The new desktop PC packs in the industry’s up-to-date specs into one convenient package. Speaking of package, the Nitro 50 struts and shines with armor-inspired housing fronted with edgy red lighting.

Additionally, the Nitro 50 blazes through every single storage issue that gamers face today. It sports up to 3TB of HDD storage and 512GB of SSD storage. The package also comes with a built-in Qi wireless charging deck.

Regardless of whether it’s online play or streaming, the PC sports a Realtek Dragon LAN card which optimizes network speeds for every use.

Nitro RG0

To complement the Nitro 50’s capabilities, Acer is also launching new Nitro VG0 and RG0 monitors. Both monitors have garnered recognition at the 2018 Red Dot Design Awards. Offering up to 27-inch variants, both the VG0 and RG0 series tailor fit usage according to every possible game configuration.

Both the Nitro 50 desktop and VG0/RG0 monitors will launch according to region. The Nitro 50 gaming desktop retails for US$ 799 and will launch between May and July. The Nitro VG0 monitors start at US$ 129 and will launch between May and June. Finally, the Nitro RG0 monitors sell for US$ 169 and will launch between May and July.